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Sticking with this week’s loosely Asian inspired theme, this is a fairly quick , easy and very delicious recipe.

The shrimp stir-fry makes for a quick meal and is great for a weeknight meal. These shrimp are absolutely delicious. I thought the shrimp and their sauce was the perfect topping for the fried rice, but noodles or even a salad could work just as well. I used this recipe to clean out my vegetable door. I just used whatever I had on hand, but you can use any veggies you want.

1 jalapeño pepper, stemmed (seeded if you don’t like spice) and thinly sliced

2 Tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped

1 lime, juiced

1 Tablespoon olive oil

12 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 lemongrass stalk, tough outer layer removed and cut into 4 pieces

1/4 cup vodka

Instructions

For the Rice:

Preheat a large skillet or wok to medium heat. Add sesame oil. When oil is heated onion, garlic, bell peppers, peas and carrots and sauté until tender.

Add the rice to the veggie mixture. Pour the soy sauce on top. Stir and fry the rice and veggie mixture until heated through and combined. Top chopped green onions and sesame seeds and serve.

For the Shrimp:

Place the soy sauce, garlic, jalapeños, cilantro, lime juice, oil, and sugar in a shallow dish and stir to combine. Add the shrimp and lemongrass and stir to coat. Let marinate for 10 minutes at room temperature.

Heat a large frying pan over high heat until hot, about 3 minutes. Add the shrimp mixture and cook until the shrimp are bright pink, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully add the vodka. Return the pan to high heat and cook for 1 minute more or until the alcohol smell has dissipated. Remove the lemongrass pieces and serve the shrimp and sauce over rice.

The Crab Louie has been a San Francisco classic since the early 1900s. Since there has been no crab around this kitchen since the infamous crab cake incident of 2011, I substituted the only shellfish that has yet to make an attempt on my life, shrimp! I’ve never actually had a shrimp/crab Louie before, so I don’t have basis for comparison, but this salad was delicious. It made an extremely enjoyable and beautiful lunch. It might seem like there are a lot of ingredients, but it came together very easily. I definitely plan on make it again. I think it would be perfect for a fancy luncheon or if you have guests.

A traditional Louie salad involves hard-boiled eggs, but since cannot stand the sight or texture of egg yolks, I left them out. They definitely were not missed. I also used kalamata olives instead of regular black olives, mainly because they were what I had on hand, but they also provide way more flavor. Every other ingredient was fresh and crisp. Living in Southern California, we get amazing produce year round. Tomatoes and avocados are at their prime and we are still lucky enough to find great asparagus at farmers’ market.

The dressing is similar to 1000 Island dressing, but not quite. I read at least 20 different Louie dressing recipes and in the end just picked the ingredients that sounded best to me. I like my dressings on the tangy side and most of them sounded like they would be pretty sweet. I used chili sauce, which I think is super sweet to begin with, so I did not add any extra sugar. I also used dill pickle relish and more lemon juice than most called for. This helped to cut the sweetness (it still had some, but not too much) and thinned out the dressing. Gloopy dressing is never a good thing. I also added Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco and paprika for color and flavor.

Shrimp Louie Salad

For the Louie Dressing:

1 cup high-quality mayonnaise

1/3 cup ketchup or chili sauce

2 lemons, juiced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons dill pickle relish

1 Tabelspoon Worcestshire sauce

1 teaspoon Tabasco

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

For the Shrimp:

12 shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tail removed

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 lemon, juiced

2 cloves garlic, minced

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

For the Salad:

1/2 head iceberg lettuce, finely chopped (almost shredded)

1/4 pound asparagus, blanched

2 fresh tomatoes, cut into quarters,

1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced lengthwise thinly

1/4 red onion, finely diced

Instructions

For the Dressing:

In a bowl, whisk together all ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place in fridge while cooking shrimp and assembling salad.

For the Shrimp:

Heat oven to 400F. Combine shrimp and all other ingredients in a small bowl or plastic bag. Toss to coat. Place the shrimp on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 6-7 minutes, or until shrimp are nice and pink. Let cool slightly while you assemble the salad.

For the Salad:

Divide lettuce between two plates. Divide the rest of the ingredients between the plates of lettuce. Serve with dressing on the side and enjoy!

I usually don’t like tuna salad. I feel like every tuna salad I have had is a horrible combination of mayo, celery, and sweet relish. The thought makes me cringe. Luckily this salad can erase any prior memories of tuna salad gone wrong. This salad is light and refreshing. There are so many amazing flavors. Using Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise, not only lightens up the salad, but really adds a nice, creamy base that lets all the different flavors shine through. I really liked that nearly every bite had a little tangy bite from the capers and a little bit of subtle spice from the bell peppers. I served this salad on a gluten-free Chebe roll with a tomato, olive and balsamic salad.

I had this post all ready to go for yesterday and then forgot to hit schedule… Oops. I’m back in school again and I’m still trying to figure out a blogging schedule that will work with school, life, and my addled brain. But let’s move on to the salmon now.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I don’t like salmon. I love fish, but salmon is generally just too fishy for me. There are of course a few exceptions (I’m looking at you delicious Pesto Salmon). I think I have found another exception!

The main reason I like this recipe is that it is so easy. It’s basically foolproof. And secondly, the flavors! It’s difficult to go wrong with garlic and Dijon. We made this for a luncheon (lunch party? Doesn’t sound as good as dinner party) and ended up doubling the recipe. We had a tons of salmon, two whole fillets. If I was using this much salmon again, I would probably triple the marinade. Even with less salmon, I would still keep the garlic mixture doubled, but I’m a saucy person. We made the salmon ahead of time and served it cold at the lunch. I will admit I did sample a small bit of the salmon when it first came out of the oven and I was in love at first bite. It was just as delicious cold.

Leftover idea! We made two whole fillets and had the smaller one left over. I made an amazing salmon salad for lunch the next day. I took about a quarter of the leftover salmon and mixed it with 1 Tablespoon Dijon, 3 Tablespoons greek yogurt, 1/4 red onion, 3 sprigs fresh dill, a squeeze of lemon juice & salt and pepper. I had it with some crackers. It was a tasty and super fast lunch.

This dish is almost like a cooked ceviche. It has all the same flavors, just prepared in a different way. These shrimp would be great in tacos or even as the filling for enchiladas. The sauce in this dish is very simple and easy to make and very versatile. It would be great with chicken as well. This dish comes together pretty quickly, but making the sauce ahead of time would cut down cooking time to around 5 minutes just for the shrimp.

Shrimp in a Mexican Tomato Sauce

For the Sauce:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup finely chopped white onion

2 cloves minced garlic

1 jalapeño, finely chopped, including seeds

2 cups fresh or canned chopped tomatoes, including juice

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon kosher salt

juice of one lime

For the Shrimp:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/4 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

juice of one lime

To make sauce, heat the oil in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat and add onion, garlic and chile and cook, stirring, until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, bay leaves and salt and simmer over low heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until sauce is slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. When thickened, add in lime juice and stir to mix.

Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it just begins to smoke. Toss the shrimp with the salt, then add to the oil and sauté, turning occasionally, until barely cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes.

Stir the sauce into the shrimp and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp is just cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes more. Stir in cilantro and lime juice.

Shucking clams is a ridiculous process, especially when one does not have a shucking knife. I will admit this is a recipe I will probably never make again. It was quite tasty, but shucking clams just isn’t an everyday activity. The best part of this recipe was the topping that went on the clams. If I could find a way to put that topping on everything and anything I definitely would. It had a delicious blend of shallot and garlic and cheese, which is pretty much all I need in life.

There are a million variations of clams casino, but I liked this one because it was gluten free from the get go. Nearly every other recipe I saw included breadcrumbs. Most gluten free breadcrumbs don’t stand up to high heat, so this one was perfect. The parmesan on top definitely get it a slight crunch, so the breadcrumbs weren’t even needed.

Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and saute until crisp and golden, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a plate. Add the bell pepper, shallots, garlic, and oregano to the same skillet and saute until the shallots are tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it is almost evaporated, about 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and cool completely. Stir the reserved pancetta and 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese into the vegetable mixture. Season the mixture, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

Line a heavy large baking sheet with foil. Arrange the clams in the reserved shells on the baking sheet. Spoon the vegetable mixture atop the clams, dividing equally and mounding slightly. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan. Bake until the clams are just cooked through and the topping is golden, about 10 minutes.

It’s been super hot here. And humid. If there are 2 things I hate, they would be hot weather and humidity. Southern California’s only redeeming quality is the year-round 70 degree weather with a slight sea breeze. If this keeps, I’m leaving. The weather also means cooking is one of the least appealing activities ever. Being in a hot, stuffy kitchen is just miserable these days. The only recipes that are appealing are those with little to no heat or actually cooking involved. This meal is great for hot weather. Very little cooking is involved and being outside at the grill is much more enjoyable than a being stuck in a hot kitchen.

The bean salad was the definitely the best part of this meal. It was tasty and tangy. The grilled onions gave it a nice smoky taste, which was great with the salty capers. I would probably make the bean salad again, before I made the tuna. I think that the salad would be great with grilled chicken or shrimp as well.

I hate pesto (pine nuts and basil are just disgusting). I don’t really like salmon either (it’s way too fishy). But for some reason I love this dish. Go figure. Mama CC has been making this for years so I guess I just got used to it. Luckily it is super easy to make and always a crowd pleaser.

We served this for Easter dinner with several friends joining us, hence the size, but the recipe can be easily scaled down to individual filet portions. If you were to scale this recipe down for smaller cuts of salmon, just keep the 2:1:1 ratio of pesto:breadcrumbs:cheese and you should be fine.

Gluten Free Pesto Crusted Salmon (adapted from Mama CC)

1 large salmon fillet , or several smaller filets (we used a 3 pound fillet)

Pre-heat oven to 450F/230C. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with tinfoil and lightly oil/spray.

Trim the salmon (if needed) and check for any stray bones.

Place the salmon on the baking sheet. Squeeze one lemon over the fillet and season with salt and pepper.

Mix together the pesto with half the breadcrumbs and spread over salmon. Take the remaining breadcrumbs and mix with half the cheese and sprinkle over the pesto. Then top the salmon with the remaining cheese.

Cook on middle shelf for 30-40 minutes (probably 10-15 if using smaller filets). Remove from oven, squeeze with lemon and serve.

I first had this salmon at a Mexican restaurant in Budapest. Yeah, I know what you are thinking, ‘Fish? At a Mexican place? In a landlocked country?’. Yes, I am aware I am lucky to have lived to tell the tale. But trust me, all misgivings aside, this is truly a delicious meal. I have been dreaming of re-creating it for well over a year and now that I have I think this might be entering into regular meal rotation. This salmon was so good, I’m not even going to apologize for the crappy iPhone picture.

I used frozen, skinless Coho salmon from Trader Joe’s, but fresh is perfect as well. If you want to make this recipe even easier to make, you can buy pre-made fresh mango salsa. It’s fairly easy to find around here, but that could just be a Southern California thing. Regardless, it’s very easy to make. Chopping the mangoes is the most difficult part.

For the salmon, I flavored it with garlic powder and Chile con Limon, which is a Mexican seasoning. Again, it’s something really easy to find in Southern California, but if you don’t live in these parts, it is super simple to make at home. I cooked my salmon in a grill pan on the stove, but a real barbecue grill or a regular pan would work just fine. Just make sure that what ever you are cooking on is HOT.

Salmon

2 salmon fillets

Chile con Limon seasoning*

Garlic powder

Olive oil spray

Fresh lemon to squeeze/serve

Heat grill pan over medium-high heat. Season salmon with chile con limon and garlic powder on both sides.

When pan is hot, spray with olive oil. Lightly spray salmon with olive oil spray. Place salmon on pan and cook 5 minutes each side. Squeeze lemon over salmon just before removing from pan.

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Arroz Verde (From a whole bunch of different recipes)

1/2 cup tightly packed fresh cilantro sprigs

1 cup tightly packed fresh stemmed spinach leaves

1 1/4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

1 1/4 cups non-fat milk

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 Tablespoon olive oil

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups long-grain rice

1/2 cup finely minced onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

Put the cilantro, spinach, and broth in a blender and blend until the vegetables are puréed. Add the milk and salt and blend a bit more until well combined.

In a medium heavy-based saucepan (with a lid) over medium heat, heat the olive oil and butter. When the butter is melted, add the rice and sauté, stirring about every 30 seconds, until it just begins to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the contents of the blender, stir well, turn the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Cover the pan, turn the heat to very low, and cook for 20 minutes. Stir the rice carefully to avoid crushing it, cover, and cook another 5 minutes.

Take the pan off the heat and let the rice steam in the covered pot for 10 minutes (be sure to remove from hot burner completely, otherwise the bottom of the rice will burn). Serve hot.

This post could also be titled ‘Anaphylaxis: Fun to Say, but Really Not Fun at All’ or ‘Why I Will Never be Going to Maryland Ever Again’.

Why you ask?

Well, apparently, I’m allergic to crab. Like really allergic. I have definitely had crab in the past with no problem, but somewhere in my recent spout of health issues, I was told that I was vaguely allergic to a lot of things that I still eat on a fairly regular basis with varying effects (I’m looking at you casein, yeast and eggs!), but none so bad to make me stop eating them. My doctor said that since I had never experienced anaphylaxis, there was no need to do further food allergy testing despite my continued sickness. Well, I proved her wrong. I really don’t like her, so in between the swollen eyes, swollen throat, throwing up, and itchy everything, I took some solace in that fact that I was right and she was wrong.

This is also why things have been a bit slow around the blog… The crab incident happened on Thursday, it’s now Saturday. I’ve only been able to hold down saltines and gatorade for the last day. My eyes are still swollen and I am still itchy. I hate crab.

No wonder Ariel wanted to get away from you...Source

If you aren’t allergic to crab, you should definitely make these though. They were quite tasty.

Gluten Free Maryland Crab Cakes (recipe adapted from the side of package)

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Welcome to my Blog!

My name is Clare and I like to cook!

This blog is about my mis-adventures in the kitchen. Every meal is quite the adventure since I live with someone with Celiac Disease and I've been recently diagnosed with a ton of different food allergies. It definitely makes for interesting times in the kitchen.

My recipes are gluten free about 95% of the time and always delicious.

I'm so glad you stumbled across my blog! I hope you enjoy it!

Contact me!

Feel free to email me at clarecancook(at)gmail.com. I'd love to hear from you!